Chicago Considering Equipping Police with Anti-Texting Tools

A Chicago City Council committee is recommending that the city's police department study devices that will tell officers immediately if motorists were texting when they got into a traffic accident.

The council's Committee on Public Safety adopted a resolution with the recommendation after the company that makes the "Textalyzer" explained how the device works. The measure now goes to the full council which is expected to approve the resolution next week. Aldermen also heard from a man whose son was killed in a head-on collision in which one of the drivers was texting.

Chicago could become the first city in the United States to arm its police officers with the devices.

State lawmakers in New Jersey and New York and Tennessee are considering similar measures.